


black, white and loneliness

by WinterSabbath



Series: frostiron fluff fics we (don't really) need [6]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst with a Happy Ending, Good Loki (Marvel), Jarvis (Iron Man movies) is a Good Bro, Light Angst, M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, at all, battle of new york never happened ok, but avengers still exist
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 01:07:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,868
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19052170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WinterSabbath/pseuds/WinterSabbath
Summary: Tony never expected his soulmate to be an alien who lives on a planet where soulmate rules are different. So naturally, things easily become a mess.OR the soulmate au where on Earth, everything is black and white until you see your soulmate and on Asgard, soulmates don’t exist.





	black, white and loneliness

Tony was never a lucky guy. He was rich, sure, and had girls and boys falling at his feet but he never exactly had luck on his side. He was constantly kidnapped throughout his life, he was tortured at the hands of men who wanted his weapons, he was ridiculed by the press, ignored by his father, hated by his team—everything never seemed to go right for him.

He never figured he was lucky enough for a soulmate either.

Hell, he was 54 and still there was not a single hint of color in his life. He was going to die soon and he probably would die never meeting his soulmate.

Most of the team had their soulmates already and Tony was so _jealous_ but he would never admit that to anyone. He shrugged it off, turning instead to alcohol and one night stands to fill up the loneliness in his life. Being alone left him to his thoughts and he couldn’t have that.

He looked around the room, the communal floor of Stark Tower. It was filled with soulmates.

Natasha and Clint laughed by the coffee dispenser, identical wedding bands on their fingers.

Steve and Bucky bantered on the couch while watching a sitcom.

Peter and MJ sat atop the bar, legs swinging around as they conversed. They were so _young_ yet so _lucky._

Tony forced himself to stop looking around and focused on his drink. They were all so _happy_ , their lives vibrant and colorful. All Tony had was dullness and endless grey. It was terrible.

He couldn’t complain, though. It wasn’t like he was the only one in the world who would die without finding their soulmate. But _damn_ did he just want at least one thing in his life to go nicely.

The tower suddenly shook a bit and JARVIS’ voice came through the speakers, “Sir, Thor has just landed via bifrost. He seems to have someone with him.”

Tony stood from his chair. “Must be his brother,” he muttered. Thor had mentioned bringing over his brother, Loki, today to introduce him to the team. It did not seem like Loki had any interest in doing so but Thor had been adamant about him meeting the team.

He went to the landing pad to greet Thor and Loki, putting on his practiced smile. “Thor, buddy, glad to see you!” Tony spread his arms wide to pull Thor into a hug. Once he did, he turned to Loki, “You must be the famed Loki.”

“Famed?” Loki asked, lips quirking up a bit.

“Thor talks about you a lot,” Tony shrugged.

Thor grinned at them both, “It is true, brother. Friend Tony, do you mind showing my brother around? I must speak to Fury regarding an urgent matter.”

Tony nodded, “Sure. You know where your room is, big guy.”

Thor left. It was only Tony and Loki now so he offered Loki his drink, “Do you drink alcohol? Thor does but he does say the stuff on Earth is too weak.”

“I am not overly fond of drinking, especially compared to Thor,” Loki smiled but he took the drink anyway. He sipped and then raised an eyebrow, “This is quite strong for Midgardian standards."

“You’ve tried other alcohol here?”

“I _am_ centuries old, I have had the time to explore.”

Tony hummed in amusement. He already liked this guy.

To lead Loki back inside, he reached over and grabbed Loki’s exposed risk, coming in contact with his skin. There was suddenly a little jolt that sent Tony jumping in surprise. There was a sudden flood of vibrancy in his vision and suddenly, everything wasn’t dull and grey anymore.

His eyes widened as he looked around and then glanced back at Loki. “Do you see it too?”

Loki gave him an odd look, “What do you mean?”

Tony went stiff at that. He immediately let go of Loki and swallowed. “Nothing. Uh, there are drinks by that counter, just... ask JARVIS for assistance. There was an... emergency at... uh, SHIELD, yeah. I gotta,” He gestured to the elevator, grimacing.

Loki stared at him, utterly confused, but Tony ignored it, heart pounding in his chest as he made his way to the elevator to go back to his penthouse.

Tony had never been a lucky guy but he never thought he was _this_ unlucky. Seriously. A one sided soulmate? That was just cruel. He was going to die unloved. Ha. Nice one, Stark.

Sliding down the floor once he reached his penthouse, Tony buried his face between his knees, letting a strangled sob escape him as loneliness ate him up once again. It was easier for him back then. He had this idea where his soulmate was roaming around somewhere but he would never meet the person. Now, though, it seemed he did meet his soulmate except... he wasn’t his soulmate’s soulmate and _god_ did that hurt.

 

\--- --- ---

 

Loki stared at Anthony’s disappearing figure in confusion but he shrugged it off. Midgardians were quite weird sometimes.

Once Thor had come back, Loki found himself being introduced to the rest of the team. He didn’t even want to be here but he forced himself to smile and shake hands. His library on Asgard was far more appealing but Thor had convinced him that in order to maintain peace with Midgard, he had to come here to befriend its protectors.

Loki knew it was not necessary but Frigga had coerced him into doing it as well. What choice did he have?

Thor gave him the room next to his and Loki retired for the day, hoping to be able to go back to Asgard tomorrow. If there was anyone tonight that he appreciated meeting, it was Anthony Stark and yet the man had disappeared to quickly after a brief conversation with Loki. He seemed fun, it was a shame Loki couldn’t spend more time with him.

Once he was safe within his quarters, he shifted to his Jotun form. He did this sometimes, just to check the timer on his wrist. Asgardians had no concept of soulmates, believing that random courtship was the way to go. Jotuns, however, had timers on their wrists to countdown to when they would meet their soulmate. The last time Loki had checked was a month ago and he had lost track of where the countdown was.

Sitting on the bed, he rid himself of the Asgardian illusion he wore. Looking down at his wrist, he blinked at the numbers before him.

Everything was set to zero.

Loki’s blood ran colder.

He had already met his soulmate.

Was it tonight? Why had his soulmate not said a word?

Then again... what was Midgard’s culture with soulmates? Did they even exist here or were they more like Asgard? After one last look at the timer to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, Loki shifted back to his Asgardian form and ran out his room, going straight to Thor’s and banging on it.

“Thor!” He hissed.

The door opened and Thor furrowed eyebrows at him. “What ails you, brother?”

“What do you know of soulmates on Midgard?” Loki asked. He needed to know, needed to find his soulmate. Norns, he’s been waiting since the day he found out he was Jotun. Growing up Asgardian, he always read stories from other realms about soulmates and he had always wanted to experience that. When he found out about his true heritage, he had been upset but it was overrun by the exciting prospect of a soulmate.

He had met his soulmate now but he didn’t know who it was. Surely it wasn’t an Asgardian. The only Asgardians Loki had come into contact with in the past month were Thor and his mother. It had to be one of the Midgardians he met today.

“I am not entirely familiar with it...” Thor admitted, “Why?”

“If I may so kindly interrupt,” said a voice from the ceiling. JARVIS. Loki looked up and nodded slowly. JARVIS continued, “When a human touches their soulmate, they are gifted with the ability to see color. That is the sign. However, I am unaware if it is the same on other planets and realms.”

Loki paused.

_Do you see it too?  
_

Anthony’s voice rang in his ears. His jaw dropped open as the realization hit him. That had been the first time Anthony had come into contact with him and he looked to be in awe. And the unexplained devastation that ran across Anthony’s face when Loki had asked what he meant made so much more sense now. It also explained why Loki was so unexplainably drawn to him.

 _Anthony_ , Loki thought, _Norns, it was Anthony all along_.

Loki looked at the ceiling again. “JARVIS, where is Anthony Stark?”

“He is currently in his laboratory, sir.”

“May you assist me to him?”

“I am afraid he does not allow any access to his laboratory.”

Loki frowned, “It is urgent. I must see him, JARVIS, he’s...” Loki stared at the ground, “He’s my soulmate...”

Thor gave him a bewildered look. “Brother, what—”

“I have no time to explain,” Loki insisted, “Where is the laboratory?”

After a long pause, JARVIS pulled up directions to Anthony.

 

\--- --- ---

 

Tony had been expecting a quiet night as usual. He had nothing but AC/DC to accompany his nightly tinkering in the lab. The loud bang of the door that echoed through it was highly unexpected. His frightened shout was reasonable. 

“What the fuck?” He cursed. He was in the middle of experimenting a color palette on his suits. Now that he could finally see colors, he might as well put it to good use.

Loki walked right through the doors, determination on his face. “Why did you not say anything?” He growled.

The air was tense and silence hung over it before Tony set down his StarkPad slowly and glanced at Loki. “What are you talking about?”

“You know what I speak of!” Loki yelled, walking closer to him, “The bond. You knew. You said nothing.”

“Bond? What? As in, soulmate bond?” Tony asked, disbelieving. How the fuck did Loki find out? “Are you here to mock me, then? Is that it?”

Loki faltered at that. “Why would I wish to mock you, Anthony?”

“Because clearly I’m not your soulmate even if you are mine,” Tony bit back harshly, “You didn’t see the colors, right?”

“Anthony... soulmates on Jotunheim do not work as they do on Midgard...” Loki said slowly. He looked like he was finally coming to realize something, “I have been seeing colors all my life, it is no indicator for whether I have met my soulmate or not. I have a different indicator and I believe I have found my soulmate. You.”

Tony opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again before a choked sound escaped his lips. Was this true? Did he actually get a soulmate for himself? Was fate not as cruel as he thought?

After a moment of silence between them, Tony wrapped his arms around Loki, burying his face in his neck. “I thought I was going to be alone forever.”

Loki smiled into the hug, pulling Tony closer. “You need not worry any longer.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> this is a bit of a mess but i wrote it fast since i haven't written in a while and just needed to write something. Thoughts? i appreciate your comments!! thanks for reading!!


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